Abstract:

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between parents' knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards childhood vaccines and their e-health literacy levels. The data of the descriptive-correlational and cross-sectional research were collected through social media platforms. The sample of the study consisted of 363 parents with children aged 0-16, reached between July and November 2020. The data of the study were collected with the Parent Descriptive Characteristics Form, the Parent Vaccination Behaviors Form, the Vaccine Reliability Scale (AGS) and the E-health Literacy Scale. 85.4% of the parents included in the study were female and their mean age was 35.04±7.01. Parents' mean FDS score was 61.09±14.19. In the study, it was determined that the parents who received information about vaccines from social media and the internet had low Vaccine Reliability Scale Scores and had a more negative attitude about vaccines (p<0.05). E-health literacy mean score of the parents was 30.43±5.71 and a negative and medium-sized relationship was found between health literacy and vaccine trust levels (p<0.05). Accordingly, as the e-health literacy level of parents increases, their trust in childhood vaccines decreases. In line with these results, it is recommended to plan studies in which health education is planned that will provide parents with information and awareness about childhood vaccines, and especially social media content containing up-to-date and scientific information is developed.

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